“Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
Got faith?
Often we talk about faith as something clear and concrete, something we either have or don’t have. But as we reflect on the stories of individuals of great faith in the scripture, in our faith tradition, and in our family and community, we discover that faith is a lifelong journey with many moments of hope and assurance that are intertwined with and informed by questions, challenges, and doubts. As we look back over the journey of faith, we realize that they all work together to help us experience God in even deeper and more profound ways.
The journey of faith is much like the experience of love. There is a moment when you realize that you love someone and you make a commitment to them. But that is just the beginning of understanding what love is and what it means to love that person. Love stretches us and helps us grow throughout our lives in ways we would never have on our own. True faith is the same.
I am always struck by the testimony of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. He was already living a life of faith and practice and was serving as a priest in the church of England. But his questions and doubts opened him up to attend a gathering with his brother Charles that was taking place on Aldersgate Street. While there he had an experience that sparked his faith to grow in even more transformational ways.
“As he heard a reading from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his ‘heart strangely warmed.’ Wesley wrote in his journal that at about 8:45 p.m. ‘while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death’’ (www.umc.org).
This testimony from Wesley is often shared, but it is only one of many times that Wesley wrote in his journal of experiencing new insight and assurance of God’s grace and love that allowed him to take the next step of growing and living in faith.
Because he was willing to share the stories of his faith, doubt, and moments of assurance, many ever since have been encouraged to grow in faith and take the next step in their faith journey.
Our August worship series, Spiritual Autobiography: Growing Together in Faith, is an opportunity for us to reflect on and share our faith stories so that we can get to know each other better and encourage one another in our journey of faith. During this series we will have the opportunity to hear the faith stories of our pastors, congregation members, and to grow in faith together.
I look forward to hearing your stories and making this journey of faith with you!
Peace and hope,
Pastor Suzanne